What is faith ?

Hebrews 11:1Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Perhaps no other component of the Christian life is more important than faith. We cannot purchase it, sell it or give it to our friends. So what is faith and what role does faith play in the Christian life? The dictionary defines faith as "belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof." It also defines faith as "belief in and devotion to God." The Bible has much more to say about faith and how important it is. In fact, it is so important that without faith we have no place with God, and it is impossible to please Him

Hebrews 11:6And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Faith is belief in the one, true God without actually seeing Him.……Where does faith come from?

Ephesians 2:8-9God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

It is clear that faith is a gift from God, not because we deserve it, have earned it, or are worthy to have it. It is not from ourselves; it is from God. It is not obtained by our power or our free will. It is simply given to us by God, along with His grace and mercy, according to His holy plan and purpose, and because of that, He gets all the glory. …

Faith is not :

Something we conjure up on our own

Not something we are born with,

Not a result of diligence in study or pursuit of the spiritual.

…Why have faith?

God designed a way to distinguish between those who belong to Him and those who don't, and it is called faith. Very simply, we need faith to please God. God tells us that it pleases Him that we believe in Him even though we cannot see Him. A key part of Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "He rewards those who earnestly seek him."

This is not to say that we have faith in God just to get something from Him. However, God loves to bless those who are obedient and faithful. We see a perfect example of this in Luke 7:50. Jesus is engaged in dialog with a sinful woman when He gives us a glimpse of why faith is so rewarding.

Luke 7:50

"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

The woman believed in Jesus Christ by faith and He rewarded her for it.

Finally, faith is what sustains us to the end, knowing by faith that we will be in heaven with God for all eternity.

1 Peter 1:8-9You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

…Examples of faith.

Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the "faith chapter" because in it great deeds of faith are described for example by Faith:

Many more heroes of the faith are mentioned "who through faith

Clearly, the existence of faith is demonstrated by action.……Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity.

Without demonstrating faith and trust in God we have no place with Him. We believe in God's existence by faith. Most people have a vague, disjointed notion of who God is but lack the reverence necessary for His exalted position in their lives. These people lack the true faith needed to have an eternal relationship with the God who loves them. Faith can fail us at times, but because it is the gift of God, given to His children, He provides times of trial and testing in order to prove that our faith is real and to sharpen and strengthen it. This is why James tells us to consider it "pure joy" because the testing of our faith produces perseverance and matures us, providing the evidence that our faith is real

James 1:2-4Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.